I've been reading books about videogames and almost completely tuning out US and UK politics.
Something that really got me out of my recent depression was realising doomerism requires a non-materialist view of history. I know a lot of people have felt really despondent since Sanders lost and feeling like there's no way forward, but we have to keep in mind that the recent resurgence of broadly left ideas among the general public wasn't created by the electoral candidates that it brought to prominence (Sanders, Corbyn, etc.). Rather, it is the product of the fact that the current system is failing ever increasing numbers of people and they are looking for alternatives. Sure, a lot of liberals might go back to sleep under Biden, but that's good. They aren't on our side. We don't want them to be politically activated. Conservative liberal suburbanites being more than usually politically engaged is one of the main reasons Biden is the nominee.
It's not surprising that people feel depressed. The crises we face are multiple and only increasing in severity as time passes. There are also multi-billion dollar industries whose entire job is to convince you that the world can never get better. But, we should resist capitalists' attempts to impose their political horizons upon our thinking. I don't know anyone my age who hasn't been radicalised (to a greater or lesser extent) over the last decade. People aren't going to stop needing decent housing, job, etc. and most young people seem smart enough to realise that neither the liberals nor the fascists have any real answers. No representatives of capital have so far given any sense that they are going to be able to solve the current decade-long crisis. I'm not arguing for complaisance, but any road to communism will pass through crises of capitalism that capitalists will present as meaning the end of the world itself. We should refuse this perspective and recognise that any future communist society will inevitably have to deal with the problems that capitalism bequeaths it.
(Edit: Sorry for the big long rant in an otherwise chill thread)
I feel that. Right now I feel like my life is pretty good, but there are definitely times where I feel like I can't cope with things continuing as they are. You're right about it being good to put things in perspective. I'm not sure about you and others here, but I have a tendency to project my depression onto my understanding of politics and to become a doomer as a result. Realising that I do that and that my feelings of political hopelessness were the result of being depressed was part of my process of recovering last time, so I'm glad that you and others might find my not currently depressed perspective helpful too :)
I've been reading books about videogames and almost completely tuning out US and UK politics.
Something that really got me out of my recent depression was realising doomerism requires a non-materialist view of history. I know a lot of people have felt really despondent since Sanders lost and feeling like there's no way forward, but we have to keep in mind that the recent resurgence of broadly left ideas among the general public wasn't created by the electoral candidates that it brought to prominence (Sanders, Corbyn, etc.). Rather, it is the product of the fact that the current system is failing ever increasing numbers of people and they are looking for alternatives. Sure, a lot of liberals might go back to sleep under Biden, but that's good. They aren't on our side. We don't want them to be politically activated. Conservative liberal suburbanites being more than usually politically engaged is one of the main reasons Biden is the nominee.
It's not surprising that people feel depressed. The crises we face are multiple and only increasing in severity as time passes. There are also multi-billion dollar industries whose entire job is to convince you that the world can never get better. But, we should resist capitalists' attempts to impose their political horizons upon our thinking. I don't know anyone my age who hasn't been radicalised (to a greater or lesser extent) over the last decade. People aren't going to stop needing decent housing, job, etc. and most young people seem smart enough to realise that neither the liberals nor the fascists have any real answers. No representatives of capital have so far given any sense that they are going to be able to solve the current decade-long crisis. I'm not arguing for complaisance, but any road to communism will pass through crises of capitalism that capitalists will present as meaning the end of the world itself. We should refuse this perspective and recognise that any future communist society will inevitably have to deal with the problems that capitalism bequeaths it.
(Edit: Sorry for the big long rant in an otherwise chill thread)
No apologies, this is helpful. Putting pain/suffering in perspective is good. It's hard not to get impatient though. . .
I feel that. Right now I feel like my life is pretty good, but there are definitely times where I feel like I can't cope with things continuing as they are. You're right about it being good to put things in perspective. I'm not sure about you and others here, but I have a tendency to project my depression onto my understanding of politics and to become a doomer as a result. Realising that I do that and that my feelings of political hopelessness were the result of being depressed was part of my process of recovering last time, so I'm glad that you and others might find my not currently depressed perspective helpful too :)
quality rant
Nah, it's cool, I enjoyed reading it and broadly agree.